Top contributors to Autism

Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt MD, PhD, a pioneer in natural medicine, offers compelling arguments for the toxic origins of autism. While the role of mercury toxicity cannot be denied as a major contributor, it is by no means the sole cause. One of the commonalities among many children with autism is that their pathways of detoxification have become overwhelmed by both man-made and microbial toxins. Additionally, children with autism may have a constant and preventable production of toxic substances within their own bodies.

The toxins that top this list include:

Mercury and other metals, such as aluminum. The major routes of exposure include vaccines and eating contaminated seafood. It is already an established fact that exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions — all similar to traits defining, or associated with autism. Thimerosal, which is added to many vaccines, has become a major source of mercury in children who, within their first two years, may have received a quantity of mercury that clearly exceeds safety guidelines. Some doctors maintain that a subset of children have genetic variations, due to natural biodiversity within populations, that make them unable to efficiently excrete mercury from their bodies. One study has shown that many children with autism have higher levels of mercury in their hair than those who do not have autism.

Viruses and microbes, such as mould. Children with autism not only have overwhelmed detoxification pathways and often heavy metal toxicity, but, according to Dr. Klinghardt, they also have continuous toxin production in their body caused by toxic microbes. This is frequently substantiated in my clinic using live blood analysis which clearly shows the presence of many different strains of fungus. Vaccines also contain numerous bioactive ingredients, including lab altered live viruses and killed bacteria, foreign DNA and protein. Whereas some vaccine safety critics focus solely on the mercury preservatives in the vaccines as the main toxic ingredient, the fact that vaccines atypically manipulate the immune system is equally compelling. In this case, an abnormal immune reaction primes your immune system to react against your body’s organs, as it creates chronic inflammation and “organ-specific” autoantibodies. In the case of vaccine reactions that lead to chronic inflammation and autoimmunity, the organ in question is mainly your brain. However, gastrointestinal problems, such as “leaky gut” are also a common organ-specific ailment.

There is evidence for a causal relationship between measles virus antibodies stimulated by the live attenuated vaccine strain measles virus in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and anti-myelin basic protein (MBP), suggesting that exposure to the vaccine strain measles virus may trigger an autoimmune response that interferes with the development of myelin in some individuals. If myelin in your brain doesn’t develop properly, nerve fibers won’t work as they should, giving rise to brain abnormalities, which could be manifested as symptoms of autism.

Earlier this year, research was published that again linked the vaccine strain of the measles virus to bowel disease in children with regressive autism, so the vaccine virus can be linked to both the brain- and gut abnormalities exhibited by autistic children.

Electromagnetic fields (EMF). This includes a variety of sources, from cell phones and cordless phones, to electrical wiring and Wi-Fi. Dr. Klinghardt considers EMF “synergistically causal,” partly because it increases production of toxic microbes and endotoxins.

A fourth major contributor that has recently been discovered is also one of the easiest to remedy: vitamin D deficiency.

The link between rampant vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women and the proportionate jump in autism has been highlighted by Dr. John Cannell. Vitamin D receptors appear in a wide variety of brain tissue early in the fetal development, and activated vitamin D receptors increase nerve growth in your brain.

Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy may be a MAJOR contributing factor to autism, especially when you consider that vitamin D also helps in the detoxification of mercury! Without sufficient amounts of vitamin D, any subsequent toxic assaults on the infant—regardless of the source—will be further magnified.

Hence, one of the most important changes that could radically reduce the risk of autism is to make certain ALL pregnant women have their vitamin D levels normalized to 50-70 ng/ml.

Helpful Strategies for Autistic Children

Based on my own experience and insight from many autism experts, here are my recommendations:

Eliminate sugar and grains from your child’s diet: Sugar is in fact toxic to your body, capable of causing profound harm to your health. This includes ALL forms of sugar, whether it’s regular table sugar or corn-based sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), honey or agave and whether it’s found in juice, soft drinks, French fries or grain products (such as pasta, breads, cereal, biscuits, etc).

Avoid pasteurized milk. This is absolutely imperative when you’re treating autism. This includes ALL milk products, including ice cream, yogurt and even whey. Even natural flavourings in food must be avoided unless the processor can guarantee, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that caseinate is not included.

Tailor your child’s diet to their nutritional/blood type for optimal health and focus on whole, organic foods. In my experience, nearly ALL children seem to respond favourably to the dietary changes when properly implemented.

Lower microbial burden: Any type of chronic infection, whether caused by Lyme disease or any other microbe, such as mould, can spread through your system and make you chronically ill. One of the major problems is that the biotoxins produced by the infection compete for the same detoxification pathways as do other toxins, like mercury and pesticides, and so on.Make your child’s body less of an optimal habitat for microbial overgrowth through dietary changes (less starch and sugar at minimum) and lowering overall stress.

Lower toxic burdens: Avoid exposure to as many environmental toxins as you can, such as pesticides, herbicides, and sources of mercury, aluminum and fluoride. Also do whatever you can to establish a mould, dust, and smell-free environment for your whole family, followed by a comprehensive detoxification program. Please remember hidden toxins like fluoride and chlorine and look carefully evaluate all cleaning products in your home, including air fresheners.

Reduce EMF exposure: Exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile phones, electrical wiring and Wi-Fi may significantly add to the problem because when toxic microbes in your body are exposed to electromagnetic fields, they respond as if they’re being attacked, and start producing even more biotoxins in anattempt to prolong their survival.

Use an effective intervention to address any emotional stresses as soon as possible – avoid having destructive thoughts and letting emotions fester.

Carefully review the vaccination issue, including the conventional vaccination schedule. Know that you have the right to opt out of vaccines or at the very least delay vaccination until your child’s immune system is stronger and also immunise individually and avoid multiple doses [as in MMR]. You may also wish to consider homeopathic vaccination.

Homeopathy may also help ameliorate some symptoms of brain and immune system dysfunction suffered by children labelled as “autistic.”